Rijksmuseum

Saint Ursula and her Virgins

Date

c. 1520

Medium

oak (wood)

Culture

Kalkar

Institution

Rijksmuseum

The Christian princess Ursula was murdered by Huns near Cologne together with her retinue of 11,000 virginal handmaidens. Some of them seek protection under Ursula’s gown in this sculpture. The saint is dressed as a well-to-do lady in the high fashion of the day: with a braided linen headdress and a ‘guimpe’ (a thin chemisette worn under a low-necked dress).

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